ReelScotland round-up 🎬 26th January 2024
Glasgow Film Festival, EIFF, Outlander training and Traitors success
Welcome to the ReelScotland round-up, a look at what’s happening in the world of Scottish film and TV. If you work in the Scottish screen sector, are trying to enter it or just enjoy films and TV with a Scottish connection, then this is for you.
Feel free to get in touch with anything you’d like to see mentioned - hopefully there’ll be more interviews and features coming soon.
After a quiet start to 2024, the last few weeks have seen the news items stack up, so here’s a brief(ish) summary…
🎬 The programme for the 20th Glasgow Film Festival, running from 28th February to 10th March, has been announced and it’s another packed one. From the UK Premiere of Bill Douglas: My Best Friend, a look at the lifelong friendship between Scottish filmmaker Bill Douglas and close friend Peter Jewell, to the world premiere of Janey, following Scottish stand-up Janey Godley on her final world tour, plus dozens of other screenings (and an appearance from Viggo Mortensen), there’s something for everyone. Take a look at the schedule before tickets for GFT members go on sale at 11am on Friday 26th and the rest of us on Monday 29th January - there’s also an industry pass available.
🎬 Bill Douglas will also be celebrated at the 17th Glasgow Short Film Festival, with the premiere of never-before-seen short films made by the artist in the 1960s opening the festival - tickets for the event are on sale now. GSFF24 will open on Wednesday 20th March and run until Sunday 24th March. The full programme will be unveiled on the 20th February.
🎂 Happy Birthday to Glasgow Film Theatre as it celebrates its 50th in 2024! Glasgow World takes a look back at the history of the venue in 8 old photographs.
🎬 Over in the capital, dates for the 77th Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) have been announced: August 15 to August 21 2024. Though it’ll be a while until any programme is announced, it has been revealed that prize-money will be awarded to the filmmakers of the Best Feature Film in Competition and the Best Short Film. Ten features and ten shorts – all world premieres - will compete for industry-leading cash prizes, supported by partnerships to be revealed at the Berlinale in February.
💰 Staying in Edinburgh, the fight to revive Edinburgh Filmhouse continues, with the deadline for the fundraiser now extended to April and donations still welcome over on Crowdfunder.
⛰️ The 20th Fort William Mountain Festival takes place from 15th-18th February and the programme is now online. Roger Cox interviews Hannah Bailey, director of snowboarding film Thrawn, in The Scotsman.
📺 The final season of Outlander will be filmed in Scotland this year and the Outlander Training Scheme is now recruiting up to 20 trainees to work in various departments, from Accounts to Special Effects. Find out more on the Screen Scotland website.
🌟 Ten participants have been chosen to take part in Producer Accelerator, Short Circuit's scheme aimed at those who have yet to make a funded short film - you can view the list on their website.
🌪️ Actor Jack Lowden has shared the teaser poster for Tornado, the survival thriller from director John Maclean that starts principal photography in Scotland this week. Lowden stars alongside Tim Roth in the film set in the rugged landscape of 1790s Britain.
🎭 And Jack Lowden will return to the Scottish stage in The Fifth Step, a new play written by David Ireland that The Herald notes will preview at Dundee Rep Theatre before opening at the Royal Lyceum Theatre as part of Edinburgh International Festival and finishing with a run at The Pavilion Theatre in Glasgow.
🎨 BBC Scotland will celebrate the life of John Byrne with a night of his work on Saturday 27th, starting with When Peter Capaldi Met John Byrne at 9pm followed by episode one of both Tutti Frutti and Your Cheatin’ Heart, then 2013’s What Do Artists Do All Day? at 11.20pm. The 1988 Arena film Byrne About Byrne is on BBC Four on Monday.
🍔 It’s been 10 years since Brian Cox starred in the short-lived BBC Four comedy Bob Servant, but the character returned at New Year in two new episodes on radio in which Bob looks back at his life. There’s just a few hours left to hear the first episode, but another week to hear the second. Jonathan Watson co-stars as Frank and Lulu also makes an appearance. You can also find the TV series on iPlayer.
🎤 Actor Gavin Mitchell will be looking back at his 30-year career, with a particular focus on Still Game, at two special events in February. He’ll be at The Stand Glasgow on 1st February and The Stand Edinburgh on 21st February.
🔟 The BFI website has listed 10 great films about Scottish history with a look at the likes of Ratcatcher, Small Faces and The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil.
📀 Mention of the brilliant Cheviot reminds me that the film is also available on DVD and Blu-ray from Panamint, a small Scottish company that’s sadly about to close down. You can buy the title for £12.99 or there’s a 3 for £30 offer on right now that’s worth taking advantage of before they go…
🗡️ Finally, series two of The Traitors has proved to be a huge success for the BBC and the final episode is on BBC One tonight, Friday 26th January. Filmed at Ardross Castle, the Studio Lambert Scotland show has pulled in upwards of 6 million viewers for most episodes and a third series has already been commissioned. Watch the series on BBC iPlayer, but beware, it is addictive…
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